The pig population has also halved over the past fifteen years resulting from a combination of factors including the Euro-pound exchange rate, changes to animal welfare regulations and disease problems (Henry, Baillie & Rushton, 2011). The ‘Foot and Mouth’ (FMD) epidemic of 2001, in conjunction with changes to EU subsidy payments, has also resulted in a reduced sheep population. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the gradual decline in livestock numbers witnessed by the agricultural sector has been developing over recent decades (Defra, 2010). The net effect of this raft of changes and events has.
